Today in Teen Birth Control: Birth Control Pills Are So Out, IUDs Are So In

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Much to our delight, birth control is having a good run lately. Not only is Plan B going over-the-counter, but a new study published in the May issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology recommends that IUDs should be the birth control of choice for sexual active teens.

"Today's IUDs are not the same as the ones that existed decades ago and are undeserving of the outdated stigma they carry," said Dr. Abbey Berenson, study lead author and director of the University of Texas's Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women's Health, in a university news release. "Modern IUDs are safe, cost-effective and provide years of worry-free birth control. Though more research is needed, this study shows that IUDs should be among the options considered to address teen pregnancy rates."

Analyzing data from 90,000 IUD users between the ages of 15 to 44, the study found that less than one percent experienced serious complications, including ectopic pregnancy and pelvic inflammation, as a result of the IUDs. Teens didn't experience problems any more than adults, either.

The study basically found that IUDs aren't dangerous to teens as doctors had once suspected. In fact, the findings say IUDs aren't very risky at all for women of all ages. And the IUD is much more effective in preventing pregnancy than any other form of birth control (99 percent effective, to be exact, more than birth control or condoms). Condoms break. We forget to take our pills. But the IUD is in there for a long haul—as long as ten years if you'd like—to prevent unwanted pregnancies. And since teens, like all of us, can be forgetful, this is a good thing.

There are a few possible explanations as to why more doctors haven't encouraged IUD use among young women in the past. For one, the version in use (and then discontinued) 40 years ago was connected to infertility and injury; while that's no longer the case with the current IUDs, some doctors may still hold onto that negative association.

Additionally, there's a fear that because the IUD is "out of sight out of mind," teens might not consider the need for condoms to prevent STIs.

A study by the Guttmacher Institute last year showed that IUD use among women had more than doubled since 2007. That said, it was still only reported to be used by 8.5 percent on birth control. But perhaps the tide will shift even more with the latest news.